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Not ready to say goodbye
By Joe Battaglia, NBCOlympics.com
For members of the U.S. softball team, the euphoria of winning Olympic gold in Athens promised to linger long after the summer of 2004.
But the players' high-flying spirits were brought crashing down in 2005 by a blindsiding decision from the International Olympic Committee, which voted softball and baseball off the program for London's 2012 Games.
"It was heartbreaking," pitcher Jennie Finch said. "At one point, we were celebrating how far we've come in our sport, and where it is going. It's never been this popular. And then, all of a sudden, we're out of the 2012 Games. It was a blow to the heart. Kind of feels like we got punched in the stomach, like we were stabbed in the back."
What seems to bother players most is the lack of a definitive explanation given by the IOC for its decision. Several "theories" have been floated publicly since the vote, and none of them sit well.
-ne purported reason is that softball closely resembles baseball, a sport that has been ravaged in recent years by steroid scandal and one that does not send its best Major League players to the Games.
"What broke my heart more than anything was the fact that the reasoning they gave for kicking us out was because they lumped us with baseball, a sport with steroid abuse that doesn't even send its best athletes," U.S. outfielder Jessica Mendoza said. "You're going to kick out a sport that you know nothing about? Bring them (the IOC) out to some of our games. Bring them out on tour. We aren't what you see with the MLB guys on TV."
Another purported rationale is the dominance of the United States, which has won all three Olympic gold medals. The American supremacy reached an all-time high in Athens, where the team outscored its competition by a record 51-1 margin.
"People continue to say it's because the U.S. dominates," two-time gold medalist and U.S. pitching alternate Lisa Fernandez said. "Well, if that was the case, basketball would have been kicked out a long time ago. The first Dream Team in 1992 was beating teams by 50 points."
One theory, that seems to have some merit, is the sport's perceived lack of universality. Since softball's debut, only four countries - The United States, Australia, China and Japan - have taken home medals. Outside of countries like the Netherlands and Italy, softball is mostly unknown across Europe, and the sport is basically non-existent in Africa and Western Asia.
The International Softball Federation has recognized the need for more widespread development of the sport. In June 2007, the organization launched Back Softball, a campaign aimed at getting softball reinstated on the 2016 Olympic program.
The IOC will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009 to vote on the sports to be included in the 2016 Games. On April 25, the IOC sent a letter to the ISF, as well as the governing bodies of six other sports, letting them know their sports will be considered for two openings on the 2016 Olympic program. Before that vote takes place, several items in Back Softball's 10-point blueprint are specifically targeted at grass-roots development and making an impression on the voting members of the IOC.
The first is to increase the number of national Softball Federations from 128 to 150 by 2009. Last summer, ISF president Don Porter granted Sierra Leone and Jordan National Federation status with promises of more to follow.
The second is to increase the number of worldwide softball participants - especially youth - to an estimated 12.5 million, an increase of 25 percent, by 2009. An emphasis has been placed on attracting youth to the sport, and providing them with proper equipment, mostly through donation, and coaching. Since 2004, Mendoza has conducted clinics in the Czech Republic, Guatemala and South Africa.
"When the decision to drop softball was made, I was absolutely devastated," U.S. pitcher Monica Abbott said. "I was mad. I cried for about a week. I still cry over it from time to time. But now we need to go out there as softball players and represent this sport for everything that's great about it. We need to spread the word about it, develop it in other countries, and get it back."
A third is to increase the number of federations across the Middle East with an emphasis on providing women and girls in the region with accessible and acceptable sports participation.
The ISF and Back Softball have found a willing and influential ally in Jordan's Prince Feisal Bin Al-Hussein, who has embraced the sport and is eager to include it in his new Peace Through Sport program, which uses sports to bring together divided communities.
School children have begun playing softball in Jordan, the first nation in the Middle East to run scholastic programs in the sport. The children are practicing on a soccer venue that was transformed into a softball field by following the International Softball Federation's transformable venue plan.
"It seems the Olympic Movement wants to include sports that are played in every region of the world and the Middle East currently represents a black hole for softball," Prince Feisal said. "Jordan is just the start and I am sure we will see other nations in our region play softball as well in the future."
Much is riding on the initiative. Should the IOC not vote to reinstate softball next year, many feel it will in effect be signing the sport's death sentence.
"Our team was in Canada, playing in the Canada Cup when the initial vote took place and there was shock by everybody there," said American Liz Kelly, who is head coach of the Netherlands and served as Technical Operations Director for the 2004 Olympic softball tournament in Athens. "They need to get it back in the Olympics or else softball is in trouble throughout the world. Great Britain has already dropped its national team. Russia and the Czech Republic are always trying, and they'll be hurt because their funding is going to go down. You can expect thing to happen around the globe."
Of equal concern is the adverse affect it may have on aspiring young athletes.
"I can't tell you how many kids have come up to me and said they're disappointed that their dream was to play softball in the Olympics and now it's not going to be there," U.S. infielder Vicky Galindo said. "I know how it felt to have that same dream and goal when I was 12. To deny these kids of their dreams is terrible."
In the meantime, international players are focused on showcasing the sport this summer in Beijing. With more eyes than ever expected on these Games, they recognize that a strong showing on this stage could leave an indelible impression.
"We can't dwell on the vote and what has happened in the past. We have to move on," Finch said. "China in August will be one of the biggest stages ever for the Olympics. What bigger and better place is there for us to showcase our sport and to help grow it worldwide?"
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